Technical Field
The present invention relates to control networks, more specifically to control networks leveraging radio frequency communication standards, such as near field communication standards and Bluetooth Low Energy standards, for initiating conference calls.
Background Art
Company personnel are increasingly using audio and video conferencing systems for daily communication. In corporate settings today, conference rooms are equipped with high quality audiovisual devices to enable audio or video conference calls. Dialing these calls can prove to be a frustrating experience where a user must enter a long string of numbers or letters into the system, such as an audio conference bridge number and passcode, a lengthy Internet Protocol (IP) address, or a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) scheme for the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). Typically, a user opens a calendar invitation or an electronic mail to look up the dialing information and manually types that information into a phone or a conference system.
Some systems provide address books stored on the conference endpoint equipment to simplify the dialing instructions. The address books store conferencing information, such as phone numbers, IP addresses, and network communication protocols. In companies with hundreds or thousands of employees that regularly conduct conference calls, such address books may be difficult to navigate in order to locate the desired conference call to dial. Also, since address books must be pre-populated with dialing information, they cannot be used to call users not listed in the address books. Other systems look at a room calendar to determine how to dial the call. However, these systems require the user to book the room ahead of time in order for the information to get to the equipment. As such, users desire a less burdensome system and method for dialing conference calls.
As portable electronic devices became readily available, corporate personnel are issued corporate portable electronic devices through which they can be readily accessible. The portable electronic devices are generally equipped with a calendar application for scheduling meetings, including conference calls. At the approach of a scheduled conference call, the calendar application prompts the user of the upcoming conference call and allows the user to dial the conference call using the portable electronic device directly from the scheduled meeting notice. Yet, there is no convenient way for the user to dial the conference call using the high quality audiovisual conferencing equipment installed in a conference room. As such, users desire a one-touch solution for dialing conference calls via the conferencing equipment installed in a conference room.
The ever-expanding reach of smart portable devices has recently extended to building automation. Smart phones and tablets are increasingly providing convenient and varied control options for residential and commercial buildings. While the introduction of smart portable devices to home automation has had a noticeable positive impact, existing systems do not fully leverage the capabilities of current generation smart phones and tablets. One such capability is short range communication technologies such as near field communication (NFC) or Bluetooth.
NFC is a set of standards for short-range wireless communication technology that employs magnetic field induction to enable communication between electronic devices in close proximity. The technology allows an NFC-enabled device to communicate with another NFC-enabled device or to retrieve information from an NFC tag. This enables users to perform intuitive, safe, contactless transactions, access digital content and connect electronic devices simply by touching or bringing devices into close proximity.
NFC operates in the standard unlicensed 13.56 MHz frequency band over a range of around 2-4 cm and offers data rates in the range of at least 106 kbits/s to 424 kbit/s. NFC standards cover communication protocols and data exchange formats and are based on existing radio frequency identification (RFID) standards. The standards include ISO/IEC 18092 and those defined by the NFC Forum, a non-profit industry organization which promotes NFC and certifies device compliance. There are two modes of operation covered by the NFC standards: active and passive. In active mode, both communicating devices are capable of transmitting data. Each device alternately generates and deactivates their own electromagnetic field to transmit and receive data. In passive mode, only one device, the initiator devices, generates an electromagnetic field, while the target device, typically an NFC tag, modulates the electromagnetic field to transfer data. The NFC protocol specifies that the initiating device is responsible for generating the electromagnetic field. In this mode, the target device may draw its operating power from the initiator-provided electromagnetic field.
Bluetooth is a set of specifications for common short range wireless applications. They are written, tested & maintained by the Bluetooth SIG. The Bluetooth Low Energy technology was introduced in the Bluetooth Core Specification version 4.0, enabling devices that can operate for months or even years on coin-cell batteries.
Bluetooth Low Energy operates in the same spectrum range (2402-2480 MHz) as the “classic” Bluetooth technology, but uses a different set of channels. Instead of Bluetooth technology's seventy-nine 1 MHz wide channels, Bluetooth Low Energy has forty 2 MHz wide channels. Additionally, Bluetooth Low Energy technology uses a different frequency hopping scheme than prior Bluetooth technology. These improvements make Bluetooth Low Energy ideally suited for discrete data transfer as opposed to streaming as in previous Bluetooth technologies.
There is now a need to fully leverage the short range communication capabilities of smart portable devices, such as smart phones and tablets, to provide more robust conferencing systems. Accordingly, a need has arisen for systems, methods, and modes that provide quick and simple pairing of user's portable electronic devices with a meeting room conferencing system and providing users with a one-touch solution to dial a conference call through the meeting room conferencing equipment via their portable electronic devices.